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Police said during the attempted robbery, the clerk refused to hand over cash, and the man assaulted her by punching and kicking her in the face.

"It was a toy gun. I could hear the plastic. The tip was off of it, like it had an orange tip, and he just pulled it off," clerk Melissa Jump said.

The assailant is described as a white man, 25 to 30 years old, with glasses, a goatee and a medium build. He was last seen wearing a blue Michigan Wolverines hooded jacket with maize colored lettering and stripes running lengthwise on the outside of the sleeves.

"My face is a little sore, tender and puffy, but other than that I'm fine," Jump said.

Owner Daryl McElroy told WLWT News 5 this was the third robbery in less than four months that he has been robbed, and his employees are trained to turn over the money in the register.

"Melissa is a brave woman, honestly. Truthfully, the way the protocol is you give them the money and let them get out the door," McElroy said.

Police said the attempted robber held the gun in his left hand the entire time. It appeared that he had a tattoo on the outside of his right hand and possibly on the right side of his neck, officials said.

"Yeah, it was pretty stupid, but still, the place is my responsibility. It was my shift," Jump said. "Now if it was a real gun, he would have got the money and left, but since it was a toy, I wasn't going to give in to him."

Without cash in hand, the man left the store about three minutes after he entered. Jump then called 911 and told deputies she saw a dark colored SUV speed out of the parking lot.

McElroy told Jump to head home, but she refused.

"I chose to stay. That's just who I am. I'm not having somebody else come in and work my shift when I'm fine," Jump said.

The attack and attempted robbery were captured on store surveillance video.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 513-352-2040.